LASER HAIR REMOVAL AND PREGNANCY
As you probably know, you hormones are all over the place during pregnancy. One of the side effects of this is hair growth. You can see a massive increase in hair everywhere. This pushes some women into considering laser treatment.
But the one word which should be in the forefront of your mind is safety. The next point you should be considering is how much of an impact it would have if the treatment was safe.
Here we’ll look at some key details which will hopefully help you make the right decision by providing you with information on the complications it can cause.
Is The Process Safe?
Theoretically Speaking…
Let’s try to think about the process and speculate about what sort of impact it could have. Firstly the laser isn’t very powerful (relatively speaking) – it doesn’t penetrate the skin very far at all. So there isn’t much chance it could penetrate deep enough to have an impact on your baby. Even if it did, there is a chance it wouldn’t cause any harm because it only targets hairs. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, laser hair removal devices don’t use radiation. Only heat and light.
So what’s the problem? Well as we said this is just speculation. We’re not 100% sure that it’s safe. There haven’t been any meaningful studies undertaken into pregnancy and a range of hair removal methods including waxing, creams and electrolysis. If you’ve already had the treatments then don’t worry. There shouldn’t be much / any risk, however until there are studies done this is mere speculation.
There are other issues beyond direct treatment too. For example the added complications of numbing creams. Some contain anesthetic which could be absorbed by the body and cause a risk to your baby.
So there is always the small chance of risk, not only to your baby, but your skin too due to the changes during pregnancy. For example skin can be extra sensitive during pregnancy, read more about it here. So not only could you suffer from excess rashes, but pain could be increased too.
Would it Work Anyway?
Any extra hair growth isn’t permanent. After you’ve given birth the hair should begin to fall out and go back to a pre pregnancy stage. So things will get better as your hormones return to normal.
Because your hormones won’t be in a stable state the outcome could be a minimal reduction in hair which costs you loads. It would be far better to wait until you’ve given birth and evaluate if you still need the treatment.
What if you Need to use Laser Hair Removal During Pregnancy?
If you’ve decided to take the risk then only get the treatment on areas as far away from your baby as possible. So areas like the hands, feet and upper lip. Stay away from the torso.
Because of legal reasons many salons and clinics probably won’t want to treat you anyway. They may not want (or be able to) to take the risk. However new information is coming in all the time. It’s best to talk to your doctor for up to date advice.
The Bottom Line; Safety
It all comes down to the unknown risk and our lack of knowledge. There are so many different sorts of laser treatment after all – this complicates the matter even further. Some may be ok while others aren’t. The main thing is to be cautious and not get the treatment until you, and a respected medical professional, agree that it’s 100% safe. Until then just wait. Do you really need laser hair removal that badly?
Perhaps sticking to plain old fashioned shaving is the best method because of its simplicity. Waxing and hair removal creams may be safer when it comes to your baby, but not when looking after your skin because of the potential for exaggerated reactions during pregnancy.
So overall we believe the safest thing to do during pregnancy is to just shave and avoid any complex treatments. At least until after you’ve given birth. You should also forgo laser hair removal directly before pregnancy because the increased hormones could undo some of the procedures good work. You could be back to square one after the birth. Again though, this has not been tested in a study and is just a theory.